Get ready for the mobile map wars. … So far, Google has reigned supreme in the mobile map world, with its maps on every iPhone sold so far — and, of course, on every phone based on its own Android operating system. Last week, though, Apple gave notice it would enter the battle, announcing that in the fall, its phones would no longer carry Google maps, but instead would have Apple’s own map service built in, part of its new mobile operating system. … The question is: Can Apple build a map service that does as good a job, or a better one, than Google has?

When Bradford Parkinson wrote to the Federal Communications Commission in August, urging the commission to scuttle LightSquared’s plans for a nationwide wireless network, he signed off as vice chairman of a board of independent experts that advises federal agencies on GPS-related matters. Here’s what he didn’t mention: Parkinson is heavily invested — to the tune of millions of dollars — in Trimble, a GPS company at the center of an all-out lobbying blitz against LightSquared in Congress and federal agencies, including the FCC. …

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… And as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act turns 25 this week, members of Congress are hearing it is time to revisit a law that never anticipated the day consumers would use Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, the iPhone and other tech staples of the digital age. Lawmakers have updated the statute over the years, but disagreements linger in 2011 over how best to revise it again. In addition, the Department of Justice has actively avoided changes to the ECPA that might curtail its broad powers — maligned by privacy hawks and civil libertarians alike — to investigate crimes involving digital evidence. At the same time, federal courts are weighing cases that threaten the DoJ’s use of the law. …

Summary: The trend towards dismissal for lack of standing in privacy cases where no concrete harm is alleged continues. On a motion to dismiss, a group of consolidated privacy lawsuits against Apple and others in the Northern District of California have been dismissed for lack of standing due to the absence of any allegation of concrete injury. The court rejected attempts to invent new damage theories and while leave to re-file was granted, the court made clear the high standards of pleading required for standing and also highlighted the other pleading defects in the case that would be disabling were the plaintiffs to try again. For full text of article, visit:

… Maps produced through the process of mash-ups include the amateur map producer. This map producer has access to powerful Web 2.0 delivered software and resources, empowering them with the ability to produce and deliver maps that are both professional and current. Geographical information and base maps can be sourced from conventional providers – for example the Ordnance Survey (OS) of the United Kingdom has developed an API called Openspace which provides free data for non-commercial experimentation (http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/openspace) – and from non-conventional sources – for example Nokia Map (http://europe.nokia.com/maps) or from OpenStreetmap (www.openstreetmap.org), the organisation providing free data and maps that are produced by individuals who collaborate to provide a free geospatial resource. However, with Web 2.0 for the provision of maps and geographical information is not without a number of issues. The following section addresses some of these. …

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“Mobile Technologies for Conflict Management: Online Dispute Resolution, Governance, Participation” is the title of a new book edited by Marta Poblet. … The chapters are is divided into 3 sections: Disruptive Applications of Mobile Technologies; Towards a Mobile ODR; and Mobile Technologies: New Challenges for Governance, Privacy and Security. …

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SAN FRANCISCO–If you have Wi-Fi turned on, the previous whereabouts of your computer or mobile device may be visible on the Web for anyone to see. Google publishes the estimated location of millions of iPhones, laptops, and other devices with Wi-Fi connections, a practice that represents the latest twist in a series of revelations this year about wireless devices and privacy, CNET has learned. … Only Google and Skyhook Wireless, however, make their location databases linking hardware IDs to street addresses publicly available on the Internet, which raises novel privacy concerns when the IDs they’re tracking are mobile. If someone knows your hardware ID, he may be able to find a physical address that the companies associate with you–even if you never intended it to become public. …

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Dr. Lea Shanley is the founder and former co-Chair of the Federal Community of Practice on Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science, a vibrant community of 200 federal employees from more than 35 agencies. She is also a co-founding member of the Citizen Science Association. Dr. Shanley recently served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at NASA, where she helped to foster a culture of open innovation. Prior to this, she founded and directed the Commons Lab at the Wilson Center, served in the US Senate as a Congressional Science Fellow, and worked with local and tribal communities to develop GIS-based decision support systems for city planning, natural resource management, coastal management, and disaster response through the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog of links to relevant news, events, and reports, provided for educational purposes only. The opinions and views contained therein are those only of the authors of the original articles. These opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the editor of this blog or or associated organizations.